It is not an offense for Ukrainian nationals not to report the fact that they are also in possession of a passport issued by another country, according to Tamás Menczer, the Hungarian foreign ministry's Minister of State for Information and Hungary’s International Image.
The comment follows Ukraine's statement condemning the fact that the Hungarian consuls grant Hungarian citizenship to Ukrainian nationals in Zakarpattia region, telling them to conceal their Hungarian passports and instructing them how they should behave during border formalities.
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"With relation to the affair, the Minister of State said that Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó had met with his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday in New York on the sidelines of the high-level meeting of the 73rd United Nations General Assembly. At the meeting, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister admitted that there exists no law in Ukraine that bans citizens from possessing a passport from another country. In addition, no law prevents the provision of another country’s passport and it is also not an offense for someone not to report the fact that they are also in possession of a passport from another country," Menczer told a press conference in Budapest on Sunday.
“The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade cannot be intimidated in the dispute with Ukraine concerning dual citizenship”, he said. Kyiv insists that the Ukrainian authorities do not allow handing out Hungarian passports in Zakarpattia.
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The Hungarian official noted that a few days ago, the Zakarpattia governor "said that at least half of Ukraine’s Members of Parliament are dual nationals, and accordingly the attack on the Hungarians is unacceptable."
Hungary will not be recalling its Consul General or Consul from Berehove in view of these affairs, “no matter how much the Ukrainians recommend this,” according to Menczer.
As UNIAN reported earlier, a video was posted on social media showing the consulate of Hungary in Berehove reportedly issuing Hungarian passports to citizens of Ukraine. Klimkin called on Hungary to take action after the publication of the video.
On September 19, he did not exclude the possible expulsion of the Hungarian Consul in Berehove. Szijjártó in turn warned his country could take new measures to block Ukraine's integration into the EU and NATO.